UN resolution calling on Syrian president to step down fails as Syrians mourn deaths in Homs; protests in London and Cairo

Residents attend a burial ceremony for what activists say are victims of shelling by the Syrian army, in the Khalidiya neighbourhood in Homs, Feb. 4. Syrian forces killed more than 200 people in an assault on the city of Homs, activists said, the bloodiest day of an 11-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, ahead of a Saturday vote on a U.N. resolution calling for him to cede power.

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"Assad must halt his campaign of killing and crimes against his own people now. He must step aside and allow a democratic transition to proceed immediately," Obama said.

"The Syrian regime's policy of maintaining power by terrorizing its people only indicates its inherent weakness and inevitable collapse," Obama said. "Assad has no right to lead Syria, and has lost all legitimacy with his people and the international community."

Residents gather before a burial ceremony for what activists say are victims of shelling by the Syrian army, in the Khalidiya neighbourhood in Homs, Feb. 4.

Sang Tan / AP

Protesters with their hands painted red chant slogans as Syrians protest outside the Syrian Embassy in London, Feb. 4, after a Syrian government forces assault on the city of Homs, Syria, resulted in hundreds of deaths. Syrian forces unleashed a barrage of mortars and artillery on the battered city of Homs for hours before dawn on Saturday, sending terrified residents fleeing into basements and killing more than 200 people in what appeared to be the bloodiest episode in the nearly 11-month-old uprising, activists said.

Sang Tan / AP

A protester holds a megaphone and a toy gun among Syrians protesting outside the Syrian Embassy in London, Saturday, Feb. 4.

Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters

Broken glass is seen in the Syrian embassy after it was ransacked by protesters in Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 4. Syrian demonstrators ransacked their country's embassy in Cairo and broke into the missions in London and Kuwait, part of protests around the world against the worst bloodshed of the 11 month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. The Cairo crowd smashed furniture and equipment and set fire to parts of the embassy building overnight.

Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters

An employee at the Syrian embassy looks at damaged items scattered on the floor after the building was ransacked by protesters in Cairo, Feb. 4.

Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters

The burnt walls of the Syrian embassy are seen after the building was ransacked by protesters in Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 4.